Driving while connected with the Navdy heads up display
Not everyone can afford to replace their current whip just to get the latest automotive smart features. The aftermarket world has got your back if you want to upgrade your stereo, but if you’re looking for an HUD (Heads up Display) there aren’t a lot of great options. In steps Navdy, a third-party way to make your car smarter with the power of projection. It’s full-featured and ready to smartphone features on your dash.
Two years after dropping a slick commercial and Kickstarter campaign, Navdy’s smart HUD is finally shipping. But the portable $800 device does more than display your current speed. Via a companion app for iOS and Android, it has turn-by-turn navigation, music control plus messaging and call notifications. It’s a see-thru version of your smartphone on top of your dash and most of the time, that’s great. On the other hand, there are times when it becomes painfully obvious that it’s not a factory-fitted item. Being able to see an incoming call without taking your eyes off the road is handy, but for some, might not be enough to justify the price.
Before even considering the Navdy you have to make sure it’ll work with your car. It requires the OBD II port from a vehicle from 1996 and later. Also, bad news if you just upgraded to an EV, Navdy it won’t work with any electric vehicles. If your car fits into those parameters (and frankly most will), you’re good to go.
And the Navdy is all about going. The full-color HUD display is impressive once you flip up the display and adjust it to your viewing angle. It handles direct sunlight and the darkest night without being washed out or so bright it burns your retinas. Information is presented plainly which is what you want from something that’s designed to keep your eyes on the road. Even when filled with information you’re never distracted from what’s ahead of you. Out of the box, Navdy has adjusted the focus range of the display so that the images appear to hover over the hood of a car.
The actual information Navdy serves up varies from helpful to user-enabled overload. The navigation and turn-by-turn directions are great though, which, of course, is likely the majority of what you’ll do with Navdy. Confusingly, these features are powered by Google search, but use Here maps. It’s odd, but it works and that’s all that matter. Since Navdy is hooked up to your OBD port for data and power, it also knows how much gas you have and your current speed, meaning this info is available for display also.
But it’s the notifications (Navdy calls them Glances) and how the system handles them that’ll make some very busy people very happy. By default, it’ll show you incoming phone calls and text messages, and alerts can be dismissed via the hardware scroll wheel you attach to your steering wheel. You can set Navdy to just read text aloud, display the text only, or do both. I used both audio and visual cues during my test and it worked brilliantly.
I foolishly thought I’d try activating notifications from Slack, my email client, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook Messenger. The result was overload and a clear sign that even if you’re looking at the road, too much distraction is incredibly dangerous. At the very least, it’s a literal reminder that I receive far too many emails in a single day.
While the inclusion of hand gestures (swipe right to answer, left to ignore) is nice, most will use the dial that attaches to your steering wheel to navigate the menus and control their music. It’s easier to spin the dial with your thumb and select with your thumb instead of swatting in the air. If you prefer voice commands, you can access Google Assistant or Siri with a long press of the central button. Using those voice-power helpers to find and play music, place calls and reply to messages makes for a very nice technological marriage of car display and smartphone feature.
But that voice integration doesn’t work Google or Apple Maps apps for navigation. Instead, you have to use the mapping software within the Navdy companion application, and that means no voice-powered address search. You can add favorite locations to the app that appear in the display, but if you need to head to a new location while driving you have to fire up your smartphone and enter it in by hand.
The lack of support for other mapping apps is the system’s achilles heel. While it delivers a safer way to interact with navigation, music and ongoing routing, it’s a shame drivers have to unlock a phone to add a new address. In fact the system is so tied to the app that it has to be running when you turn on the Navdy. But like launching much like Spotify for music, launching the app became second nature when I got into the car and placed the portable device onto its base.
I was initially concerned that making Navdy portable and removable would be a pain. Who wants to drag a piece tech out to the car every time they drive? But like launching apps, placing the device on its magnetic dock became second nature.
Plus, if installing something like this isn’t within your comfort range, the company has a partnership that’ll it easy by having someone else do it for you.
While Navdy says that people will be able to install it in about 15 minutes, the company has teamed up with Enjoy for same day delivery and installation in a number of major cities (Los Angeles, Chicago, Manhattan, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and the San Francisco Bay area). The kit itself includes an adhesive pad with a docking station that plugs into your car’s OBD port. The actual Navdy device attaches to the base with magnets which seems like it would be a bad idea, but during my drives (which included multiple trips through a kidney-jarring construction zone) the device was never came loose.
If you do frequent rough roads though, or have a vehicle with harder than usual suspension (for example a sports car), Navdy’s HUD display is probably not an ideal solution. No matter how well it’s mounted to the dash, the adjustable display is prone to vibrations in less than ideal road conditions.
I tested the system in an Audi TT on San Francisco’s perpetually under construction avenues. On a road near my house that’s been under construction for what seems like years, trying to read the display while it vibrated resulted in a headache. Even in “comfort” mode the TT has stiff suspension. Throw in potholes, ruts and ignored infrastructure and the Navdy becomes useless. This happened on only about 10 percent of my drives and only on a single rough patch of the freeway. If your car’s suspension isn’t tuned for cornering you should be fine, but you might want to take note of the condition of your usual driving routes before dropping $800 on a HUD.
Despite its minor flaws, the Navdy is a solid product that adds functionality I didn’t even realize I wanted. On a few occasions I jumped into the car and started driving without placing it on the dash and instantly missed it.
On one trip, I drove down an unfamiliar street at night and realized it would be easier and safer if I pulled over and dropped Navdy on the dash instead continuing to glance down at my phone for directions. With the HUD in place, I have great, visible navigation and can leave the phone in the glove compartment. The allure of constantly being connected means I haven’t done that in years. For the record I don’t text, tweet or Facebook and drive but just having the phone nearby just in case has been my excuse for keeping it handy. Navdy erased that need and made my driving just that much safer.
Source: Navdy
Xiaomi Seeks to Impress in Premium Space With 5.7-inch ‘Mi Note 2’ Phone
Xiaomi unveiled its latest phablet phone, the Mi Note 2, at an event in Beijing today, with the clear intention of filling the void left by the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
The Note 2 is the newest model in Xiaomi’s premium Mi line and features a 5.7-inch flexible OLED display that sits under a panel of wraparound glass and curves around the sides of the handset.
On the rear is a 22.56-megapixel camera with support for 4K video, backed up by a dedicated 3-axis gyroscope to enhance image stabilization. An 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture features on the front.
The Note 2 is powered by a 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821 processor and comes with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage capacity. There’s also a 4,070mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support, plus cellular support for 37 bands worldwide.
The Mi Note 2 starts at 2799 yuan ($413) for 64GB storage/4GB RAM, going up to 3499 yuan ($516) with 128GB storage/6GB RAM, and will be available in China first before hitting other Asian markets and presumably other parts of the world.
#MiNote2 – front & back 3D curved glass, 5.7” flexible OLED display, SD821 2.35GHz, 37 global bands, 22.56MP camera, RMB3499 pic.twitter.com/4kfCR6ELjx
— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) October 25, 2016
Xiaomi’s focus on its premium range of phones comes on the back of a shift in consumer interest away from discount devices in the Chinese smartphone market, with buyers seeking out high end phones that can go toe to toe with models from the likes of Apple and Samsung instead.
Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are three Chinese brands that all offer premium phones now costing over $300, leaving Xiaomi’s inexpensive Redmi handsets looking less attractive to savvy buyers with more disposable income.
Tags: China, Xiaomi
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Xiaomi Unveils ‘World’s First’ 6.4-inch Phone With Edgeless Display
Xiaomi surprised at its Beijing event today by announcing the Mi Mix, the “world’s first edgeless display” phone, alongside the company’s new Mi Note 2.
Designed by French designer Philippe Starck, the Mi Mix is a 6.4-inch device that features a 2040×1080 pixel, 17:9 aspect ratio borderless display that takes up 91.3 percent of the front of the handset. The only significant bezel sits at the bottom of the screen, but it doesn’t have a physical button, with all the controls existing onscreen.
The all-ceramic phone uses a piezoelectric ceramic driver for the earpiece which uses the metal frame to generate sound, while the proximity sensor has been replaced by ultrasound. Both innovations are hidden under the display. The design also uses a mortise and tenon joint for attaching the display to the body, rather than glue or other adhesives.
Powering the phone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, with 4GB RAM for the 128GB capacity model and 6GB RAM for the 256GB model, which also features gold trim, with 18K gold accents on the camera lens and fingerprint sensor on the back.
The rear camera boasts a 16-megapixel resolution and 4K video, while the front camera is 5 megapixels. The phone is also said to have dual SIM connectivity and a 4,400mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support.
#MiMIX Edgeless display (world’s 1st), 93% screen-body ratio, piezoelectric ceramic earpiece speaker, behind-display ultrasonic proc sensor pic.twitter.com/33dywzDxKG
— Hugo Barra (@hbarra) October 25, 2016
Depicting the Mi Mix in promotional videos reminiscent of the Monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Xiaomi called the device a “concept phone”, and yet offered both a price and a release date. The 4GB/128GB model costs RMB 3,499 ($515) and the 6GB/256GB model is RMB 3,999 ($590), with both handsets set to launch on November 4th in China.
The phone may give us some idea of what Apple’s next phone could look like. Apple has a major iPhone redesign planned for 2017, with a glass body and edge-to-edge OLED display that includes an integrated Touch ID fingerprint sensor and front-facing camera. The handset is expected to lack bezels, meaning there will be no Home button. Jony Ive is said to have wanted to introduce an iPhone that looks like a single sheet of glass for several years, and 2017 may be the year that becomes possible.
Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: China, Xiaomi
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What you need to get started with HomeKit
In order to have a smarthome, you don’t have to be a homeowner.
Think about it: let’s say you rent an apartment somewhere or maybe live in a dorm room or are using a house share, you can still take your connected devices with you, from one move to the next, as long as they’re portable, easy to install, and modular in that you can mix them with other connected devices from the same ecosystem in order to build on top of their functionality and truly make your home smart.
Plus, you’ll want something affordable, because there’s no downside to saving money, and there’s nothing worse than buying an expensive gadget only to somehow lose it or damage it in between moves. You’re probably now wondering if such devices – ones that fit all the criteria – exist. Well, they do, and they’re part of Elgato’s Eve range, which currently offers seven different connected devices.
But one of the coolest things about Eve is that it supports Apple’s HomeKit. The technology makes it easier for connected devices in a smarthome to communicate with each other, and for you to connect and manage all the sorts of connected devices in your smarthome from various manufacturers. It also lets you use Siri on your iPhone or iPad to control connected devices, such as Eve devices.
Here’s everything you need to know about Eve and how to get started with HomeKit.
What you need to get started with HomeKit?
You need the following in order to get started with HomeKit
- iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch with iOS 8.1 or later
- At least one HomeKit-enabled device
- Companion iOS app for each HomeKit-enabled device
- Home app
- Home Wi-Fi network
Keep in mind HomeKit-enabled accessories are connected devices with built-in support for Apple’s HomeKit technology. Accessories can be lights, locks, thermostats, plugs, switches, sensors, shades, etc. Over 50 brands worldwide make devices that work with HomeKit, including Elgato.
What does the Elgato Eve range include?
You can see the Eve range from this Elgato webpage. It currently exists of Eve Energy (switch and power meter), Eve Room (wireless indoor sensor), Eve Weather (wireless outdoor sensor), Eve Thermos (thermostatic radiator valve), and Eve Door and Window (wieless contact sensor). There’s also the Eve mobile app, which lets you remotely manage your Elgato Eve devices.
How do you use Eve with HomeKit?
The idea is you’ll setup your Home-Kit enabled Eve device, such as an Eve Energy, which includes using the Eve companion app to connect Eve Energy to your Home Wi-Fi network, then you’ll use Apple’s Home app in order to control Eve Energy through Siri as well as make it communicate and work with other Eve devices (and maybe even devices from other manufacturers).
With HomeKit-enabled Eve devices, you’ll have a smarthome. More specifically, you’ll have home automation, because your Eve devices will be hooked up to a single, remotely controllable network that is capable of supporting scheduled events. You can program time-related commands, such as having your lamps, which are plugged into Eve Energy, turn on or off at specific times each day.
HomeKit also enables non-scheduled events, such as turning on all the lamps, which again are plugged into Eve Energy, in your home whenever your Eve Room wireless indoor sensor is triggered. There are so many options with Eve and Homekit, and the best part is, they’re all portable, easy to install, modular, and affordable. Now go make that home of yours smart.
Xiaomi Mi MIX is a bezel-free concept phone
Following the unveiling of the Mi Note 2, Xiaomi’s latest flagship device, the company has revealed detailed about a concept phone it’s been working on. The Mi MIX appears to be a similar size to the iPhone 7 Plus but manages to fit in a 6.4-inch screen compared to the 7 Plus’ 5.5-inch. Xiaomi has managed to do it by virtually removing the top, left and right bezels, leaving a screen to body ratio of 91.3 percent.
- Xiaomi launches Mi Note 2 with curved OLED screen and 23MP camera
Xiaomi hasn’t shared too many other details of what the Mi MIX would run on and what storage it would have, presumably because it’s just at a concept stage for now, but the company has said it would be made entirely of a new ceramic material.
Everything from the frame to the buttons would be made of the new material and Xiaomi has said it wants to use it instead of aluminium for its toughness, but also to create a more luxurious and premium feel. Going by the pictures alone it certainly looks like a premium device.
There’s no word on if and when the Mi MIX would make it to market, or if Xiaomi will even make it. It’s just a concept for now, which Xiaomi says is “beyond anything that’s available today”. Our fingers are crossed that it will one day be made.
Of course, it’s not the first concept phone we’ve seen this year with no bezels, as Sharp has made the Corner R, which was unveiled at CEATECH 2016. The Corner R also loses virtually all bezels around three sides but introduces curved corners as well to help with the illusion.
Humax H3 Espresso media player provides aerial-free TV viewing
All you need to get up and running with Humax’s new H3 Espresso smart media player is an HD TV and wired or wireless internet connection. It comes with three apps pre-installed: Netflix, YouTube and TV Player, the latter letting you watch live TV via a subscription. Humax provides a code for a two month subscription in the box.
You can view any photos, videos and music on the H3 from any DLNA-connected or Android device provided it’s connected to the same network. You can download the free Humax Cast app for iOS and Android to turn your phone into a remote to use with the H3
- Humax FVP-4000T review: Freeview Play’s first set-top box
- Humax adds Netflix to FVP-4000T Freeview Play boxes
If you have a Humax FVP-4000T Freeview Play set-top box in your home, the H3 can be used to access any stored recordings to watch back on the TV it’s connected to, in a similar way to how Sky Q works. But you can also watch live TV on the H3 via one of the FVP-4000T’s three tuners view the EPG to record programmes the 4000T’s hard drive. You can also connect up to four H3 devices together to create a multi-room TV system.
Graham North, vice president sales at Humax, said, “This innovative Smart Media Player represents yet another technology breakthrough from Humax. Ideal as a stand-alone streaming device, or in partnership with the Humax Freeview Play PVR range, the H3 Espresso delivers a seamless and easy-to-use solution for multi-room TV viewing”.
The Humax H3 Espresso smart media player is available now for £79.99.
MTV to add fan livestreams to music programming in 2017
To entice millennial viewers, MTV is experimenting with a hybrid TV format that combines traditional programming and user-created livestreams. Back in June, MTV Music tested a slot that allowed fans to broadcast their dance moves on national TV. A specific hashtag meant the show’s producers could see people’s livestreams in real-time and pick the best ones to accompany each music video. Now, MTV Australia is planning a full-time show that will utilize the same concept next year. It doesn’t have a name, but Viacom — MTV’s owner — says it will be a “truly innovative and immersive fan experience never seen on television.”
The experiment is hardly surprising, given the rising popularity of livestreaming tools such as Periscope and Facebook Live. TV executives — particularly those targeting younger viewers — are rightfully concerned with their ability to attract eyeballs. Rather than fight them head on, MTV wants to embrace their utility and modernise its linear TV channels in the process. The strategy makes some sense, given that 24-hour music channels are often used for parties and other social gatherings. Giving people the chance to participate, no doubt to comical effect, could build on this use-case and give it an advantage over alternatives like YouTube.
Source: Viacom (PR)
Video calls are now live on WhatsApp beta!
The beta client for WhatsApp picked up an update to 2.16.318, bringing the ability to make video calls. When you tap the call icon, you now have the option of choosing between a voice call or video call. The interface itself is similar to what we’ve seen with the voice calls. You can start a new call from the Calls tab, or from within a conversation window by selecting the call icon.
For video calls to work, both parties need to be on the beta channel. Otherwise, you’ll just get a message saying that the recipient needs to update to the latest version. The update is live for WhatsApp beta users, and should make its way to the stable release in the coming weeks.
Who’s excited?
Xiaomi Mi Note 2 unveiled with curved display, Snapdragon 821, 6GB RAM, and global LTE bands
Xiaomi has announced the successor to last year’s Mi Note, the Mi Note 2. As expected, the Mi Note 2 has everything you’d imagine from a high-end phone, including a 5.7-inch dual curved QHD display with a flexible OLED panel, 2.35GHz Snapdragon 821, 6GB of RAM, 128GB UFS 2.0 storage, 22.56MP rear camera (Sony IMX 318) with EIS and 4K video stabilization, 8MP front shooter with autofocus, NFC, a DAC that enables 24bit/192kHz audio, and a 4070mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.
The Mi Note 2 has a 3D curved back that match the curved edges at the front, resulting in a symmetric design similar to that of the Note 7. A notable addition is support for global LTE bands, with the phone offering 37 bands in total:
- GSM: 2/3/5/8
- CDMA 1X: 0/1/10/15
- WCDMA: 1/2/4/5/8
- TD-SCDMA: 34/39
- LTE-TDD: 38/39/40/41
- LTE-FDD: 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/29/30
The phone comes in Piano Black and Glacier Silver options, and will be going up for sale in China shortly. Xiaomi is selling two variants of the Mi Note 2: a base model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB storage for ¥2,799 ($415), and a version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage for ¥3,299 ($485). Then there’s a global version with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage that retails for ¥3,499 ($515).
No mention of international availability as of now, but thanks to the wide LTE support, you’ll be able to use the Mi Note 2 in the U.S. That’s a big deal for Xiaomi as it tries to make its way to Western markets.
What do you guys think of the Mi Note 2?
Xiaomi’s Mi Mix concept phone is insane, will go on sale next month
Xiaomi rolled out the Mi Note 2 earlier today, offering everything you’d possibly want from a high-end phone. The Chinese manufacturer also introduced a concept phone — called the Mi Mix — that goes beyond “anything that’s available in the market today.” The phone features a massive 6.4-inch edgeless display, but the 91.3% screen-to-body ratio means that the Mix isn’t larger than your average 5.7-inch phone. Xiaomi partnered with French designer Philippe Starck in designing the phone, which features a ceramic body.
As the front of the phone is just a slab, Xiaomi is using an ultrasonic distance sensor instead of the traditional proximity sensor. The 5MP front camera is located at the bottom, and uses a custom sensor that’s 50% smaller than the average camera sensor. There’s no earpiece as well, so if you’re one to take calls, you’ll have to rely on cantilever piezoelectric ceramic acoustic technology, which transmits sound without the need for a receiver.
Other specs are standard fare, and include a Snapdragon 821, up to 6GB of RAM and 256GB storage, 16MP camera, and a 4400mAh battery. Xiaomi mentioned that the design and conceptualization of the phone stretched out over the course of the last two years, and the company will in fact start selling the Mix in China starting next month. The model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage will retail for ¥3,499 ($516), and the variant with 6GB of RAM and 256GB storage will be available for ¥3,999 ($590).
AIVAnet 